Sesame Street Casting New Latino Character

You've probably heard the familiar refrain: "Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?" One way to get to Sesame Street? Be Hispanic.

The show held its first-ever open casting call in the its 43-year history in New York to find the newest member of the cast: a Latino actor who spoke both Spanish and English fluently. This character would, executives hope, reflect the show's increasingly diverse audience, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Sesame Street has long had Hispanic characters (since the 70s), the show is looking for a wider (and younger) pool of bilingual speakers to appear on TV as well as online videos covering topics like asthma, obesity and coping with a parent's death. The New York audition was the only casting call, which called for an actor or actress between the ages of 18 and 25. Hopefuls had to sing a capella in English and Spanish and perform physical and improv comedy.

Sesame Street executives will make their decision before the 44th season starts shooting on September 16. The episodes will air next fall.

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